Container Housing

Berlin, Germany

Spreelichtung

The project is inspired by the history of the site. It produces a student village with a high sense of community. The joyous and artful atmosphere of this ‘Wohnkunstwerk’ creates a truly positive living environment. The village is designed as a small campus. Five buildings each form a neighbourhood by itself. They are carefully arranged to create a central space in this park – Lichtung – where the students can meet to talk and play, or to find a quieter place to study and discuss. The prototype of the student unit offers a compact apartment that meets any standard. The urban lay-out of five blocks in a campus park creates a residential setting of the highest quality. Spree Lichtung combines art and architecture in a happy new student village that encourages interaction.

The lay-out of the student unit is carefully considered to offer a proper home that they can call their own. The stretched space of the container is subdivided into three parts to create different areas and atmospheres. A very intimate space with bedroom and bathroom is at the heart of the home. The bathroom is practical yet compact. The bed is a standard IKEA-product that comfortably sleeps one, and may convert into a 1m60 double bed, just in case. The two spaces on each end of the container are distinctly different. One is the kitchen and dining area. Directed towards the courtyard, it stimulates interaction. The other space, in contrast, provides the peace for concentration, contemplation and relaxation.

The most prominent block on campus has an additional floor on ground level. This central building may be equipped with an elevator to allow access for the physically disabled to the dwellings on the floors above. The ground floor caters to the needs of the entire student community. At the core 400 bikes can be stalled without visual impact on the campus space in a compact innovative system. Waste-dumpsters and storage spaces can also be placed here. Depending on the required area for this programm, an area of 400 m2 commercial space could be developed. Small shops can be placed on the Eichbuschallee. On the opposite side the commercial space faces the central lawn of the campus. This is the sunny side, and with the possibility of putting out tables and chairs it is not hard to imagine that a café, a take-away restaurant or a Starbucks coffee could be very successful here.

Art Project

Building a community is not about building only. We would like to invite the students to lend their creativity and energy to an art-project that in its production will help build a mental , virtual community. Every individual dwelling will be outfitted with roller blinds. These blinds can be imprinted with a collective art piece. Some examples have been included in this proposition for Spree Lichtung. We hope that the students will embrace this opportunity to turn their campus community into a veritable Wohnkunstwerk!